Do Me A Favor?
by 1980s-popito
Summary: "Jackie has an important question for you," Kitty answered her husband seriously. Red gave a questioning look, now slightly concerned. "How important?" "Pretty important," Hyde answered, "And that's coming from me."... Jackie stood up from her seat, walked over to the man and let out a deep breath. "Mr. Forman," she started seriously, "I need you to do me a really big favor."
_**Do Me A Favor?**_

Red sat down in his old recliner, letting out a content sigh as he did so. He picked up the remote and clicked the television on, turning on his program: _M* A* S* H._ He enjoyed it due to the fact that it depicted the Korean War, but that the characters depicted it in a comical way, so he liked to make fun of how idiotic they were for thinking that- often using his favorite words to describe them: _dumbass._ They were fun to make fun of and make jokes about- at least with the jokes he personally enjoyed.

Just as soon as he sat down and the television screen from its blank black state to an actual picture, Red heard his name being called from the other side of the swinging kitchen door. He rolled his eyes in annoyance as he clicked the television back off and stood up from his chair. He grumbled to himself, but stopped as he entered the kitchen. When he did, he saw his wife with two of the six now adults that at one point lived in his house while in their late teenage years: Steven Hyde and Jackie Burkhart.

"What're you two doing here?" Red asked in an annoyed tone of voice, "Shouldn't you two be out picking plates or something?"

Hyde and Jackie had- finally- gotten engaged. He had picked a ring- with the help of Mrs. Forman- that would be perfect for his girlfriend, then while visiting the place where they had their original first date, long before they actually became a couple and they both said they had not feeling for each other romantically as teenagers- yet they both knew they did- and proposed to her. They had gotten back together in the year 1980, a few months after Jackie and Fez had broken up after dating for only one month, remaining friends. After being back together for two years, he finally proposed to her in the spring of the present year, 1982.

It's not that Red didn't like the two- he liked them more than he was willing to admit out loud- he just didn't think they'd be in his house while they were planning for their wedding the upcoming summer. He thought the only kitchen involved thing they'd be doing was going to _Sears_ or some department store picking out their appliances for once they were actually married. Obviously he was happy for them, he just wanted to be happy for them while they _weren't_ in his home, and _not_ in his kitchen with his wife.

"We needed help with a few things," Jackie answered, "So we decided to ask Mrs. Forman cause she's really good at this stuff."

 _I agree with them there,_ Red thought. "What could you two _possibly_ need help with?" he asked the two.

"We need help with the tux your son has to wear," Hyde answered, half sarcastic, "We don't know what material makes him feel _itchy_ and what doesn't."

Red let out a small chuckle. "Why does he need a tuxedo? Why doesn't he just get drunk before your wedding so he can put on a dress like he always ends up in?"

Hyde smirked in amusement at the older man's comment; Kitty and Jackie shared unamused looks. "Red," Kitty scolded slightly, "He's your son, don't say that. And besides, he only put on a dress those couple times. It was usually Fez that would end up in a dress."

"She's got a point there, Red. Eric passed it on to Fez, and then to Charlie." The younger man's smirk stayed in place as he spoke.

Jackie let out a slight sigh. "We just want Eric to be the man for once," she said, "Especially cause I chose Donna to be my maid of honor and I don't want her to be the man this time in their relationship. She looked great at her and Eric's wedding, so she's gonna have to look at least good at mine, cause I _refuse_ to let her look better than me."

Red looked at his adoptive son. "I thought you fixed her?"

The younger man with curly hair shrugged slightly. "I could only do so much, Red. Besides, you know how she likes to talk about Donna's appearance. It's like a trip down memory lane for the two of them."

Red really did like having his adoptive son around, and his fiancé- "The Loud One". Over the years, along with his son, he learned to actually like having six dumbass teenagers around his house or hanging out in his basement. Were they irritating? Yes, very much so. Could they be more idiotic and moronic at times than usual? He didn't even think it was possible for them to be bigger idiots sometimes, but then he would see things like Kelso glued to his refrigerator; or Eric, Hyde, Kelso, and the foreign kid all dropping a bowling ball onto his couch and breaking his television- the list was endless. But these were some pretty good memories to laugh at every once in a while. But now that the six were all out of his house- most of the time, anyway, since they all still came by frequently to visit Kitty- it felt a bit empty at times. Granted, he'd never admit to this out loud to anyone, but the thoughts were still there.

Red chuckled lightly again. "Right," he mumbled, "So why was I called in here anyway? If the two of you are getting help from Kitty, why do you need me? I could be making fun of Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers right now."

"Jackie has an important question for you," Kitty answered her husband seriously.

Red gave a questioning look, now slightly concerned. "How important?"

"Pretty important," Hyde answered, "And that's coming from me."

Jackie's question really was important. IN fact, it had to do with one of the most important parts of a wedding, aside from the bride and groom actually saying "I do". Her question would decide a very important factor for the wedding ceremony, and not just because it had to do with the bride- who was Jackie Burkhart! That made it even _more_ important! But this question, the whole wedding depended on Red's answer. It was a traditional thing in nearly every single wedding for centuries, and if she could get the older man to agree to help her, the whole thing would be even more perfect.

Jackie stood up from her seat, walked over to the man and let out a deep breath. "Mr. Forman," she started seriously, "I need you to do me a _really_ big favor."

"Depends on what it is," Red answered skeptically.

"On me and Steven's wedding day… would you walk me down the aisle and hand me over."

He gave a questioning look. "Hand you over?"

"You know how at weddings, the bride's father always walks her down the aisle and hands her over to the groom?" When he nodded, she continued, "Well, my dad's still in prison, so obviously he can't. And either way, he never really payed too much attention to me when I was growing up, so I would've only asked him to do it for the sake of tradition. And I would ask W. B., but I don't really know him too well, and I'd only ask him cause he Steven's dad. So after taking those two into consideration, I decided to ask you if you'd do it. I mean, I've always looked up to you like a father, so I was wondering if you would walk me down the aisle."

Red was taken back by the young women's request, and it showed in his facial expression. "Me?"

Jackie really did always see Red Forman as a father figure to her, even before her father had been sent to prison. He'd always been there for her, ever since he talk her how to fix a car engine. And even though she knew he didn't always like to be around her and the rest of her gang as teenagers, he still didn't act so terrible to her when she was growing up. Plus, her and the rest of the five all still believed that she was Red's favorite. For these reasons, she hoped he'd say yes to her request.

Red was a bit shocked that she asked _him_ to walk her down the aisle as her father. He knew that her father was still in prison, and probably would be for the rest of his life- but either way, he knew that her and her father never really had a close personal relationship. And like she said, he knew that she and W. B. didn't know each other well enough for her to consider him a "father figure". He was flattered that she had asked him, and he was also honored that she had asked him, since he knew how important it was for a father to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. And since he hadn't been able to do that when Laurie had married the Foreign Kid years earlier, he thought it may not be so bad to do it for "The Loud One".

"Please, Mr. Forman," Jackie pleaded a bit desperately, "If you say you'll do it, I'll never ask you to do anything ever again."

The three could almost laugh at the girl's words, but know she meant well. "Sure, Jackie," Red answered with a genuine smile, "I'll walk you down the aisle."

The younger woman let out a slight squeal of joy as she smiled and quickly hugged the older man. He grew tense at first in shock at the woman's action, but let his body relax and hugged her back. When the pulled away from the hug, she smiled at the man and said, "Thank you, Mr. Forman."

Hyde slightly nudged Kitty. "How much you wanna bet he agreed cause she's still his favorite?" he asked with a joking smirk, causing the elder woman to let out one her signature laughs as she nodded a bit in agreement.


End file.
